Production of taxol by an endophytic fungus isolated from Taxus chinensis var. mairei

Objective To isolated from producing endophytic fungi of Taxus chinensis var.mairei,and study its anti-tumor activity.Methods The hyphal tips,which grew out from the tissue of Taxus chinensis var.mairei were isolated and transferred to potato dextrose agar (PDA).Then the purified endophytic fungal strains were fermented.The presence of taxol in the fungal extract was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC),ultraviolet spectrophotometry (UV),high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS) by comparison with taxol standard.The anti-tumor activity of the fungal taxol was detected by Methyl Thiazolyl Tetrazolium (MTT) method with HeLa cells.Results Strain D62,an isolated endophytic fungus from the phloem of the Taxus chinensis var.mairei,was observed to produce taxol,when grown in semi-synthetic liquid media.The amount of taxol produced by this endophytic fungus was 148.95 μg/L determined by HPLC.The fungus was identified as a Fusarium sp.according to the morphology of the fungal culture and the characteristics of the colony.The fungal taxol extracted also showed a strong cytotoxic activity in the in vitro culture of HeLa cells tested by an apoptotic assay.Conclusion Strain D62,a taxol-producing endophytic fungus isolated from Taxus chinensis var.mairei,can serve as a potential material for fungal fermentation to improve taxol production.